Caliber Companies is using the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, passed in 2012, to enable significant local real estate development. “Being able to publicly solicit a private security is the first thing that came through the JOBS Act,“ says Chris Loeffler, Caliber’s CEO and co-founder. Title II of the JOBS Act, passed in 2013, shifted Regulation A, with a project maximum of $5 million, to Regulation A+, with a project maximum of $50 million, and Loeffler explains the significance of that is there’s a lower reporting requirement so there aren’t all the costs of being a public company. “There’s just no company out there that, with $5 million, can really afford to deal with all the reporting requirements that come under even a public company-light scenario.”
A recent change passed unanimously by the Securities & Exchange Commission opened investment opportunities to non-accredited as well as accredited investors. “They don’t need to have a net worth of $1 million, therefore there’s a larger audience,” Loeffler says, pointing out that, for people who are looking to grow their wealth in real estate, “this is a phenomenal vehicle for them.”
Caliber assists clients in maximizing their growth potential and income through diverse, asset-based investment strategies. Says Loeffler, “Being able to talk about what we do allows us to get more exposure, which means we get a broader investor database, which means we can do more projects and more innovative projects that are not necessarily tied to the capital providers.”
The newest investment property to be included in Caliber’s private equity fund is a 2.5-acre site on Bahia Drive in Scottsdale, at the northeast corner of the Loop 101 freeway and south of Bell Road. The Bahia 101 is a $7-million project that will develop 40,000 square feet of Class A commercial office space, with groundbreaking scheduled for this coming June.
Noting that real estate development has long been determined by capital, and large, institutional capital traditionally likes the big-box, proven cookie-cutter model, Loeffler says, “Smaller investors, who care about the neighborhood, may choose to sacrifice part of the return for something more creative or interesting.”
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